OREGON DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE

“Hey Man, See You In Philadelphia. It’s Great There.” via zimbio

No matter how the Oregon Ducks’ football season turns out this year, I’m making a request for next year.

It’s not too early, not after watching Duck quarterback Marcus Mariota’s 2014 debut where he showed us what to expect from a focus player.

Mariota isn’t the only good Duck. The media makes it sound that way, but he might be the best example of the mythical ‘student/athlete.

He takes it a step further, upgrading to scholar/athlete on this page.

How else can you explain a guy set to graduate with a degree in Human Physiology while playing football? This isn’t a communication major guy, he’s more pre-med.

Dr. Mariota sounds nice.

Blinding Us With Science

During research listening to sports talk radio I learned he took twenty credit hours during the season last year. He’s a science guy. Can we agree he’s smart?

We can also agree that sports radio isn’t the most reliable source of college football news. Talking to you, USC, and your heroic defensive back.

Watching Mariota on and off the field during the South Dakota game, he showed more poise, more control. He also showed a face college football had needed for years.

No smirking Johnny Football look on this Duck. More like a man on a mission, a player of destiny. In this his third season, he stands ready to top all the Oregon quarterback stats.

This is a young man with a foundation so strong he could hold a Heisman and a National Championship trophy at the same time. The player has seen the bright lights. We know he won’t melt.

Former Ducks coach Chip Kelly, now an NFL guru-savant with the Philadelphia Eagles, wants him. That’s how good Mariota is, and why I make this first request for 2015.

The NFL Loves Marcus

Please Marcus, please, please, please stay in Eugene one more year. Don’t leave us. You have one more year of eligibility. Stay in school one more year and get a masters degree like Seattle Seahawk Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson.

Sure the extra year doesn’t always work out. Look at USC’s Matt Barkley. He stayed his last year, got hurt, dropped in the draft, but now he’s an Eagle with Coach Kelly. It could be worse.

My plea for 2015 ia more than a selfish request from a selfish writer. If you saw the studio team during the Oregon vs South Dakota game then you understand.

One of the guys was Matt Leinart, that Matt Leinart, the USC Heisman Trophy winning Matt Leinart. Who thought he was still playing in the NFL? He’s currently listed as a ‘free agent.’ For all the flop grief thrown on Joey Harrington, he had a better career than Leinart.

Matt Leinart Role Model?

There’s Matt in his not-ready-for-primetime hair do, a shadow beard last seen on Miami Vice, and a loose tie. Either he was cautiously stylish, or just crawled out of a hot tub. Either way, he’s a stark contrast to Marcus Mariota.

One was an LA babe magnet/troller on a USC campus hotter than any NFL lobby packed with veteran NFL groupies. If there’s a difference, Matt would know.

Then there’s Marcus’ solemn look, giving serious answers to standard football questions. He seems to know himself well and the stakes of the game he plays. If he doesn’t, we do.

How Many Pleases Will It Take

Please, please stay one more year at Oregon. Please, Marcus, please. This is some serious begging here.

Seeing Mariota on the field one moment, then a quick cut to the studio and Leinart, shows the difference. The NFL throws you to the Lions like they did Harrington, or the Cardinals like Leinart.

In a perfect world both players would have had stellar careers. In the NFL world, neither did.

Stay a Duck one more year, Marcus. Help us remember what old school values look like in the digital age where you said you’d visit your family more often if the NCAA paid athletes.

Give us an extra year of a football player in command of the field. It’s rare to find someone who ought to know better than play such a dangerous game, but does it anyway. You help fans who face difficult situations in life tackle their problems with the right attitude.

Call it hopes and dreams, kid. That’s all we’ve got. Let’s share them as long as we can. That’s the best medicine.